Health News Roundup: Moderna COVID-19 vaccine gets EU regulator endorsement for teens; Florida asks Supreme Court to lift CDC coronavirus cruise ship order and more

Sinovac is expected to announce its final investment decision for the plant, which would supply vaccines in Chile and regionally, in the coming weeks. United States buys 200 million more doses of Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine Pfizer Inc and German partner BioNTech said on Friday the U.S. government has purchased 200 million additional doses of their COVID-19 vaccine to help with pediatric vaccination as well as possible booster shots - if they are needed.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Florida asks Supreme Court to lift CDC coronavirus cruise ship order

The state of Florida on Friday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to allow a lower-court decision to take effect that said the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) could not enforce its coronavirus cruise ship rules in the state. The ruling was blocked by a U.S. appeals court late Saturday. Florida asked the Supreme Court to lift the appeals court order warning without action. "Florida is all but guaranteed to lose yet another summer cruise season while the CDC pursues its appeal," the state said in its filing to the Supreme Court.

Turkey's daily coronavirus cases jump to 11,094, highest since May

Turkey's new coronavirus cases climbed above 10,000 for the first time since mid-May on Friday and hit a level of 11,094, according to health ministry data which also showed 60 people died due to COVID-19. "If you want tomorrow to be better than today, comply with the measures. Get vaccinated," Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Twitter as he released the data.

Dispute over Italian coronavirus study shows challenges of probing origins

A dispute over blood tests has raised questions about an Italian study that suggested the coronavirus was circulating outside China much earlier than expected, highlighting the challenges of trying to determine when the virus emerged. Scientists in Italy last year published a study that showed neutralising antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus were found in blood taken from healthy volunteers in the country in October 2019 during a lung cancer screening trial.

Moderna COVID-19 vaccine gets EU regulator endorsement for teens

Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine could become the second shot okayed for adolescent use in the European Union after regulators on Friday recommended approving it for 12- to 17-year-olds ahead of U.S. authorities. Use of the vaccine, Spikevax, will be the same in adolescents as in people over 18, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) said, adding the shot produced a comparable antibody response to that seen in 18- to 25-year-olds.

China's Sinovac evaluates vaccine plant in Chile

Chilean authorities said on Friday that China's Sinovac had begun evaluating potential sites for the construction of a vaccine plant in Chile that could begin producing doses of the Chinese shot as early as the first half of 2022. Chile, a global leader in vaccinating its citizens against the coronavirus, has leaned heavily on the Sinovac vaccine in its fast-paced mass vaccination program. The Andean nation also helped spearhead clinical trials of the shot late last year. A delegation of executives from Sinovac this week visited potential sites for the factory near the capital Santiago and in Chile's northern desert. "This is an investment that could be made veryquickly and that would make the plant ... operational in the first quarter next year," Economy Minister Lucas Palacios told reporters following a site visit near Antofagasta. Palacios said the plant could produce as many as 50 million vaccine doses annually and in addition to its CoronaVac COVID-19 shot, it could produce vaccines for hepatitis B or influenza. Sinovac is expected to announce its final investment decision for the plant, which would supply vaccines in Chile and regionally, in the coming weeks.

United States buys 200 million more doses of Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine

Pfizer Inc and German partner BioNTech said on Friday the U.S. government has purchased 200 million additional doses of their COVID-19 vaccine to help with pediatric vaccination as well as possible booster shots - if they are needed. A Biden administration official with knowledge of the contract said that as part of the agreement, Pfizer will provide the United States with 65 million doses intended for children under 12, including doses available immediately after the vaccine is authorized for that age group.

White House says new Pfizer vaccine order could help if booster shot needed

The U.S. purchased 200 million more doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for flexibility if booster shots are later needed and the shots are approved for younger children, the White House said on Friday. The vaccine makers announced the government's purchase earlier on Friday.

Mexico City's third wave of pandemic drives up hospital occupancy

COVID-19 hospitalizations in Mexico City and its suburbs, home to some 21 million people, increased by a third in the last week, authorities said on Friday, amid a third wave of the coronavirus pandemic. There are currently 3,382 people hospitalized in the metropolitan area of ​​the Valley of Mexico, city official Eduardo Clark said. He added that if necessary more hospital beds would be turned over to COVID-19 treatment.

J&J shot recipients may need a booster; new advice on infected kids

The following is a roundup of some of the latest scientific studies on the novel coronavirus and efforts to find treatments and vaccines for COVID-19. Johnson & Johnson shot may need boosting

Vaccinated people make up 75% of recent COVID-19 cases in Singapore, but few fall ill

Vaccinated individuals accounted for three-quarters of Singapore's COVID-19 infections in the last four weeks, but they were not falling seriously ill, government data showed, as a rapid ramp-up in inoculations leaves fewer people unvaccinated. While the data shows that vaccines are highly effective in preventing severe cases, it also underscores the risk that even those inoculated could be contagious, so that inoculation alone may not suffice to halt transmission.

(With inputs from agencies.)